Disability Studies and Action Collaborative

Disability Culture, Scholarship, and Community

About our Program in Critical Disability Studies: Now offering a CDS Minor and DISA Coursework

About our Program in Critical Disability Studies: Now offering a CDS Minor and DISA Coursework

Critical Disability Studies – Mission Statement

The Critical Disability Studies program builds a community that is focused on the academic study of disability as a social and cultural construct and lived experience.  Working with faculty across the disciplines, students will come to understand disability as a central aspect of the human experience and a socially just world

About the Disability Studies Program

Our program aims to engage students in an examination of disability as a social and cultural construct and lived experience. The interdisciplinary field of Critical Disability Studies draws together a wide range of disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, political science, law, computer science, education, and many others. 

Critical Disability Studies offers students an understanding of disability in the context of intersectional social justice movements and helps students to develop a critical awareness of concepts such as normalcy, ableism, productivity, and human value as they operate in their lives and in their local and global communities. Students will explore topics including: representations of disability in art and culture, universal design in physical and digital environments, the political and legal aspects of disability, the intersectional interactions between disability and structures of power, and the values and histories of disability communities.

Find us in the WWU Course Catalogue here (link).

Coursework

Update: Disability Studies coursework can now be cross-listed with the DISA course prefix! View our growing list of coursework here: wp.wwu.edu/disabilitycollaborative/courses/

Minor

Our new minor in critical disability studies officially launched in Fall 2023! Learn more about our upcoming Minor in Critical Disability Studies and how to declare here.

Elective approval note: If you are considering the Critical Disability Studies minor and believe that you have taken coursework that is appropriate to be approved as an Elective for the minor, please email the co-directors at icds@wwu.edu and include the year, course information, and syllabus so that we can properly evaluate the offering.

Faculty

Here are some of the diverse faculty who contribute to the critical disability studies program represent colleges and departments across Western Washington University. Learn more about the faculty, staff, and students who are part of the ICDS here.

  • Kathleen Brian (Ph.D., Senior Instructor of Global Humanities and Religions)
  • Elizabeth Boland (Ph.D. and CRC, Professor of Health and Community Studies)
  • Sean Bruna (Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology)
  • Yasmine Elglay, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Computer Science)
  • Kyann Flint (Instructor, Critical Disability Studies)
  • Allison Giffen, Ph.D. (Professor of English)
  • Pam Kuntz (M.F.A. Senior Instructor of Dance, Critical Disability Studies)
  • Ceci Lopez (J.D. and L.L.M., Assistant Professor of Law, Fairhaven)
  • Andrew Lucchesi, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of English, Critical Disability Studies) – Co-director
  • Cathy McDonald (Senior Instructor, Critical Disability Studies)
  • G McGrew, Ph.D. (Senior Instructor, College of Science and Engineering) – Co-director
  • Scot Nichols (Fairhaven College)
  • Tara Perry, Ph.D. (Professor of Communications)
  • Candice Styer, Ph.D. (Instructor of Special Education, Woodring)
  • Anika Tilland-Stafford, Ph.D. (Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies & Honors College)
  • Adrian J. Villicana (Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Social Psychology, Fairhaven)
  • Daman Wandke (MBA, Senior Instructor of Education Leadership and Inclusive Teaching, Critical Disability Studies)

Past Faculty & Visitors

  • Pau Abustan, Ph.D. (Visiting Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)

Find our entry in the official Western Washington University Catalog here

News & Announcements – DS Minor & Academic Program

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